A40 - Scottish Road trip. Utter hero of a car

[Matty]

1 hour ago, MiniMinorMk3 said:

Currently on offer on Ebay at £7

AUSTIN A40 ORIGINAL LUBRICATION CHART | eBay

 

Todays equivalent is

Argh, why did you do that. Could do without spending another tenner, but that'd look good on the garage wall 😄

[Scrubworks]

26 minutes ago, Matty said:

Argh, why did you do that. Could do without spending another tenner, but that'd look good on the garage wall 😄

I have the exact same chart for Minors. Well, I don't have the physical chart. Someone was selling one on eBay, and they'd taken a lovely, high resolution photo of it for the listing. Everything was perfectly legible so I just saved the image to my computer 😂.

[Matty]

Back on location (though without my car, which is still on stands awaiting the parts turning up), Saturday saw a family (only the men, the women in my family have much better taste/higher standards) outing to swinging 60s at the ever wonderful Oulten Park. This was billed as 60s saloon racing, though in honesty the program was bizarre. Including a race where a yamaha v8 spaceframe special battled a shit load of e46 M3s, a 172 clio and a st150 😳. Brilliant though. Obligatory shit photo dump to follow. 

[Matty]

Wonderful photo this for me. I'm known for being shit. Uncle and dad and their cars. (Uncle tall, dad Leo Sayer).

[Matty]

Some really shit track photos.

 

[Matty]

In the pits. Had a good chat with this lad. 1380cc making 145bhp at 7500rpm!! Beautiful all round and very quick on track.

[Matty]

Perfect racer and support vehicle combo!

[Matty]

Another good chat. St150 just like mine and same colour. 240 horses and very rapid on track. As I walked off he says "so you'll do the same to yours when you get home?" Err, nah, needs to go to Lidl 🤣

[Matty]

In the "car park" (you park where you want at  Oulten).

[Matty]

Random pit porn

[Matty]

Finally, this made my day. When we went back to the car's for a butty, this had parked next to us. When I was a toddler till being about 8, my family and my uncles family ran one of these apiece as dailies. Tracked the owner down, and what a lovely man. Just sitting in it made me feel about 5 again 😍

[Matty]

In more boring news, this week should bring two new halfshafts, gaskets and a differential gasket when they land. So should be on the road for Friday. Everything's clean and in place ready, so it's a waiting game at the moment.

Also could have exciting shit old car news in a few days, but not going to jinx it till a deals in place. Stay tuned.

[tooSavvy]

@Matty... absolutely no pictures are $hite >> if there's an IMP in it [... going damn fast, of course 😉].

'tear along the dotted line', as Hillman said....

[Matty]

9 hours ago, tooSavvy said:

@Matty... absolutely no pictures are $hite >> if there's an IMP in it [... going damn fast, of course 😉].

'tear along the dotted line', as Hillman said....

Yeah it was bloody evil that thing. Well smart.

[Matty]

All done and mended. Two new halfshafts (seems daft to do one) new orings, diff gasket and halfshaft gaskets. Driven it round the block a bit and all seems well. Touch wood. Shit at taking photos while I'm trying to get a job done.

[Matty]

On 9/24/2023 at 5:31 PM, Matty said:

Also could have exciting shit old car news in a few days, but not going to jinx it till a deals in place. Stay tuned.

Yer well, that isn't happening as swift as expected. 

I've been mulling over moving this on. Much as I love it, I getting a fancy for something with more legs for distance work. Se5 scimitar or a mk2 vitesse. However, having given it some thought, I've decided to gain legs by giving this the full Midget saloon treatment.

I'd made contact with a lad in Warrington who breaks MGs. I'm interested in his stock of gearboxes and diffs but he also had a 1340cc a series he took out of a rotten midget. But he wants 1500 quid. Which to be fair when bare 1275s which are an unknown quantity are going for between 5 and 8 is fair. And a 1275 is enough tbh. If I get bored in the future I can stick a fruitier cam and carbs on it.

So I'm going to deal with him on a cheap 1275 midget gearbox and diff. I'll rebuild them over the winter and hang hard on an engine turning up. End of the day the cars on the road and goes well so no rush.

However, I'd love to pick the brains of all the BMC/BL experts on here. Any advice as always greatly appreciated, but specifically at this point, does anyone know what's involved in adapting a later A+ as fitted on maestros/montegos for rear driving through an older BMC 4 speed box?

Thanks for reading all, this could be a long haul 😀  

[SiC]

Not sure on a montego, etc but I know the Moggie peeps use either a Midget or the later Marina lump. The marina has the oil filter in a different location and on the block, so doesn't fit Spridgets.

[Matty]

See, this is the sort of stuff I'll need to know 😄

[Mr Pastry]

I think you will find that the A plus is just a bit too different and will not be economic to convert to RWD.

Re, Marina, you have a bit more space in the A40 than in the Midget, so the Marina oil filter location might not be a problem.   But you would also need the 1275 Midget backplate, flywheel and clutch, also the front engine plate to accommodate the A40 engine mountings - the Marina has the mountings on the block.  So, realistically, you will need a 1275 Midget engine, and probably easier to find than a Marina anyway.

 

 

 

[Matty]

23 minutes ago, Mr Pastry said:

I think you will find that the A plus is just a bit too different and will not be economic to convert to RWD.

Re, Marina, you have a bit more space in the A40 than in the Midget, so the Marina oil filter location might not be a problem.   But you would also need the 1275 Midget backplate, flywheel and clutch, also the front engine plate to accommodate the A40 engine mountings - the Marina has the mountings on the block.  So, realistically, you will need a 1275 Midget engine, and probably easier to find than a Marina anyway.

 

 

 

All good points. Midget era is so much easier to just drop in. All this advice is so useful because when you get impatient is tempting to just buy owt and make it work 😄

[N Dentressangle]

The easiest way to do what you want would be to fit a 1275 Midget engine, and find a very late Midget 1500 3.7:1 diff to go with it. I think that's the highest they came with. They're not cheap unless you can turn one up off Ebay. Here's what you're after: https://www.mgexp.com/forum/mg-midget-forum.3/3-7-rear-end-gears.3278853/ and you'd end up with something like this mechanically: https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/856560685352976/

Keeps you with pure nuts n bolts mods, so straightforward and easily reversible, although I'd say it would make the car more valuable, not less.

Anything much better takes you into MX5 / K series engines etc with loads more work. 

[Mr Pastry]

You would have to suck it and see with the axle ratio.  IMO, 3.7 might be a bit too tall, as the A40 is heavier than the Midget.   The Marina also on 13" wheels had a 4.1 axle and would do about 90 with the stock engine though it is even heavier, so a 3.9 would perhaps be about right if you happen to find one.

I put a Spitfire overdrive box in my 1500 Midget which much improved it, and it wasn't expensive.  This led me to consider whether you could use the overdrive box with the Marina bellhousing and flywheel in an A series Midget or A40?  Probably not without bulkhead and tunnel mods, but it's a thought.

 

[N Dentressangle]

Yep, the 3.9 diff might be a good compromise, and a fair bit cheaper too.

If you really want an A+, the only rear drive fitment was to the Ital. The Marina 1275 might be cheaper than Midget ones, though:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/314687835808?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=TzcCUL1zSiy&sssrc=2047675&ssuid=3fVYaSNwS9a&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

Got to be cheaper than that on FB

[SiC]

Marina bare engine maybe cheaper but I reckon you could get a rotten Midget 1275 easier to nab the complete drivetrain.

OR how about a Nissan Micra engine...
https://barrattengineering.co.uk/

The Micra engine is based off the A-series (licence bought by Nissan) and while different, it drops in very easily as it's essentially a development over the original.

Chap who does that kit I believe is on here and mostly on RR:
https://forum.retro-rides.org/thread/217047/midget-series-nissan-micra-conversion

While for the Midget, I'm sure I could be adapted to an A40 with little to no mods I imagine.

[SiC]

I'd probably end up saving this rather than pulling for parts...

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/722714209444067/?ref=facebook_story_share

Risk the engine might be kaput though. 

But cheap and should have a 1275 setup complete. I believe after 1968 on, they had the taller diff. 

[MarinaJosh]

Quite a lot of Minors restored in the 80s/90s with 1275 A series engines (often paired with a Ford Type 9 'box) are reaching the stage where they are falling to bits again so it may be worth keeping an eye out for a rotten Minor with one in. My Traveller was bought for this reason by the previous owner and in the time I have had it I have seen quite a few others, so well worth joining the various Minor groups on Facebook.

[Joey spud]

1 hour ago, MarinaJosh said:

Quite a lot of Minors restored in the 80s/90s with 1275 A series engines (often paired with a Ford Type 9 'box) are reaching the stage where they are falling to bits again so it may be worth keeping an eye out for a rotten Minor with one in.

This is pretty much the spec and condition my Minor was in when I paid £2k for it 2020.

(freshly reconditioned Midget engine and Ford type 9).

[Joey spud]

I drove my Minor for the first time the other day just from my old house to my new abode and the 1275 seems to have plenty of pull to it.

But despite having the Sierra box the gearing is still quite low I can pull away without any struggle in second and fifth gear can be used on the flat at 35mph.

The previous owner said he swapped out the noisy 4.5 diff and fitted a 4.2 (so it must of been able to climb walls before) and at the minute I am using 185/70x13 eight spokes.

For blasting around the village it'll be a riot which is mostly all it will ever do.

But I am hoping the yet to be finished widened 14 inch wheels with 185/70 tyres will give it longer legs for trips further away.

 

[Matty]

Well, I've just missed out on a Healey Sprite with all the bits in I need by 20 quid. Bloody ebay 😁

Would've been a cheap way to do the job, although can't imagine it would've made me popular, scrapping the shell like.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/204473578862?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=X-b9oDf6T3e&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=svwv9r4orxa&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

[Matty]

1 hour ago, Joey spud said:

I drove my Minor for the first time the other day just from my old house to my new abode and the 1275 seems to have plenty of pull to it.

But despite having the Sierra box the gearing is still quite low I can pull away without any struggle in second and fifth gear can be used on the flat at 35mph.

The previous owner said he swapped out the noisy 4.5 diff and fitted a 4.2 (so it must of been able to climb walls before) and at the minute I am using 185/70x13 eight spokes.

For blasting around the village it'll be a riot which is mostly all it will ever do.

But I am hoping the yet to be finished widened 14 inch wheels with 185/70 tyres will give it longer legs for trips further away.

 

Looks brilliant. You should be justifiably proud of the work you've put in.